Sunday, July 10, 2011

Mayflower Landing Our Joy and Thanksgiving

July 8, 2011
Elk City, Oklahoma morning and we slept-in. Not on purpose but I think the time changed. Steve was grinning as we were finding our tourist clothes. Another *Hay-why-an* shirt and he's set and since Elk City was part of Steve's Mission in the late 1960's, it's a town to sight-see and discover. I wanted to wear cowboy stuff, but I didn't bring anything that cool, I just brought cool ... summertime in Oklahoma is more than warm.






First thing "outta' the gate" was little league fields as far as we could see and they all look new, bright, and just hundreds of lights and silver grandstands. It's clean and loved to see the Elk statue and then the pond water feature with a carousel prettier than Santa Barbara.


Why can't Santa Paula have places like these? This town is bitty but it is so prosperous and looks like a town with great focus on their cowboy history and the notoriety of a town located on the Route 66.


Steve and I took pictures like crazy. Did we need another oil-well? I asked Steve, "You're going to take another picture of the oil-well?" Steve said, "I have to get the perspective." "Huh?" "Steve we have oil-wells everywhere at home." He said, "Not in the middle of town." That thought never even occurred to me because there ARE oil-wells...the "grass-hopper" looking pumps everywhere around Santa Paula. We just don't see wells DRILLING in town.


We headed out again and flew through most of the small towns and stopped at a Sonic in Yukon, Oklahoma. We had no idea that our new Oklahoma Temple was there in the out-shirts of Oklahoma City. We're sorry we didn't have a chance to visit and see the Temple.


We had our bead set on getting to Mayflower, Arkansas and knew we had to just "truck-it" to get there before dark. Steve didn't even turn his head to look at Oklahoma City and he served there. He knew where the red-brick old town was located and he was focused on getting on the right freeway straight into Arkansas.




DEE-LAY! Big Skin Bayou area was traffic and since it wasn't exactly "quittin' time" for commuters, it had to be construction or an accident. We found out that it was a little of both, but we took a rest-stop and really rested. We hung-out under a picnic area and ate the junk out of the vending machines. I think I gained more weight there. Steve was eating cinnamon rolls and I was sure my tired driver was going to be sick. The time off the road did him good, maybe it was the sugar. He was raring to go again and we made our way through the mess. A U-Haul plus lots of construction ended-up with a huge mess of stuff all over the roadway. My heart felt better because usually when the traffic stops, the car wreak results aren't at all just scattered household items in the road. All along this road we're trying to text and send updates on our location so that our family back home and of course, Bree would know when to expect us. Cell sites are non-existent so we just quit trying and that's a really good thing because I could look-up and enjoy the scenery. Scenery was just forest. I never even saw the Bayou. All I could see was the road going up a little and then down. I asked Steve if this road reminded him of the movie, Twister. He had been on this road a lot during his mission and just nodded and said, "I told you."

We got to Bree's area and the landscape really changed getting into and in Arkansas. We went over lots of large rivers, maybe it was one big river, The Arkansas River and all the tributaries, over and over. We saw lots of familiar sites near the area that Bree and her family had lived before moving south.

Arkansas is a beautiful and as we approached Conway we saw lakes and new we were almost there. Mayflower, we came in the wrong way. Nothing like being in a town and thinking that north is south and south is north. It was fun to finally have Internet service and I put the Welcome to Mayflower sign on Facebook. Bree was so surprised. We were a block away. I rolled down my window and it's just dusk. Our car outside temperature is crazy.

We wave and wave as we see Bree and our family on the front porch. We were all so animated and we wanted to leap-out before our Camry stops. Oh, hugs and kisses. We were cheerful then grateful and full of emotion. We were also about to see and meet our newest grand daughter, Susan.


The step into their house was different from outside and  I was too excited and almost fell down. There weren't toys and blocks. My except my back I was still moving with the car and I almost fell walking in the living room. The air-conditioning was amazing. Instantly, I my thoughts were toward my dear family and how they were able to live (survive)  in such hot, humid weather and in a nice comfortable and newly painted home.

Our First Meeting Here On Earth






"Here Mom, do you want to hold Susan?" I spun, never-ever do I recall hearing that phase before. Angelic was the only word I could think to describe Baby Susan. Divine, delicate and perfect and I had to press her against me as a little bundle of love and a bond that is only a grandmother's complete joy. I looked at Bree and looked at her, then back at Bree. We are soooo blessed.




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